U.S. FORCES RESCUE EIGHT DETAINEES

Today, at approximately 4:40 p.m. EST, three U.S. special operations helicopters landed in a field near Ghazni, Afghanistan, about 50 miles southwest of Kabul, and picked up the eight detainees, including two Americans, who had been held by the Taliban.

The detainees are now in Pakistan. They seem to be in good physical condition. More details will be available once they have arrived at their final destination in Pakistan.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said, "This effort involved many people and several entities. U.S. forces performed the extraction well, and the American people can be proud of them."